£400-£500 pc, going into gaming

pdrivaJan 13, 2010, 11:04 AM

Hello people,

I've decided to gather parts to make a PC but I need some advice. I'm not looking to play games at the moment but I'm definitely looking to get back into gaming so I need some opinion as to whether the parts would be "suitable" for games.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Feburary to March at the latest

BUDGET RANGE: £400, but willing to stretch to ~£500

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Watching TV shows, work-related programs (possibly matlab or other scientific programs), surfing, photoshop, gaming (in the future, looking onto games like dragon age origins or maybe crysis)

RAM - Completely unsure, please advise as to what model I should get (preferably more than 2GB, DDR3, at least 1333MHz, preferably around £70 range)

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: at least 1440x900

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I don't need a graphics card now, but am looking to playing games in the future, so would this build run a radeon 4870/4890/5770? Also, if I decide to crossfire or overclock, would the PSU be powerful enough to handle it? Lastly, how many more fans should I get for the case if I decide to do some (small) overclocking?

I forgot to mention that I'm also open to suggestions for the other components, so please give advice if there are other cheaper combinations for this rig.

Since I would be using the integrated graphics chipset for a short while, do I need to overclock the integrated graphics chipset to run HD videos at a sufficient speed?

For the case, would larger graphics cards actually fit? I read in some cases that if crossfiring some mid-size ATX cases can't actually house it? And lastly, is it possible to extend the 6pin power connecters, say, splitting one 6pin power connector to 2 connectors?

I think integrated graphics will be fine for HD video.This picture http://img.neoseeker.com/v_image.php?articleid=2300ℑ=44 ,from a useful review, shows a 4850 fitting. I don't know yet how long that card is (to compare to the cards you are looking at), but am researching it. From my research a 5770 is 22cm long and 4870 and 4890 are about 24cm. As you can see, a card in the first PCI-E slot will have no problems because it will extend into the 5.25" bay, whereas a second card would run into the harddrive cage if it was too long.Two other cases that I think you should consider are the Antec 300 (which can apparently fit a 5870, 28cm) and Lancool PC-K58, as these are pretty good quality and reasonably cheap. These are cases that I like, so up to you if you consider them.Not too sure about your last question, I wouldn't think that it was either possible or a good idea, but don't quote me on it.